Potami Waterfalls

Behind Potami beach on the north coast of Samos a stream comes down through a narrow limestone gorge, and a path follows it upstream for about twenty minutes through plane and laurel forest to where the walls close in. From that point the route is through the water: a series of pools, the first shallow, then deeper ones that must be swum, with ropes fixed at the harder steps, leading to a waterfall in a chamber of rock. In spring the flow is strong and the pools cold; by late summer the stream can shrink to almost nothing and the falls to a trickle. On the way stands the eleventh-century church of Metamorfosi, one of the oldest on the island, and the ruins of a Byzantine fortress on the hill above.

What you actually see

• The gorge pools - a chain of pools reached by swimming.
• The waterfall - a fall inside a narrow rock chamber upstream.
• Metamorfosi church - an eleventh-century chapel beside the path.
• The forest walk - plane and laurel along the stream from the beach.

When to go

April to June, when the water still runs strongly and the pools are full; by August the stream often dries and the trip loses its point. Cold water is the main obstacle in spring.

Honest expectations

Reaching the falls requires swimming in cold water and scrambling on slippery rock, with ropes at some points, and it is not suitable for weak swimmers or small children. There are no facilities in the gorge. Flow varies enormously by season and year.

Nearby

Potami beach is at the mouth of the valley; Karlovasi and the Mikro Seitani coves lie either side.